What is critical thinking: Beyond merely retrieving information, critical thinking involves the ability to reason, process and evaluate information, using it to problem solve and reach accurate conclusions.
How to evaluate information: Critically evaluating information is imperative, especially in the health fields, as it could potentially affect the health of the information consumer. Following are a few sites that will aid you in critically evaluating health information:
Health Information Literacy
http://www.mdc.edu/medical/library/HealthInformationLiteracy.ppt
What you will find: a powerpoint that will aid you in identifying quality health education materials written at various literacy levels, in various formats and in other languages; help you in limiting your use of medical jargon; assist you in instructing consumers/patients to evaluate health education materials for authority, currency, and bias; and help you improve communication skills with your co-workers.
Medical Library Association (MLA):
Content Evaluation Guidelines
http://www.mlanet.org/resources/userguide.html#3
What you will find: poses four sets of questions on which to evaluate the content of a website.
The Health on the Net (HON) Foundation:
HON Code of Conduct (HONcode) for medical and health web sites
What you will find: defines a set of rules to hold medical and health web site developers to basic ethical standards in the presentation of their information. You may search to determine if particular websites have obtained the HONcode seal.
Following are interactive learning objects and case studies that provide opportunities for you to practice your skills:
Goniometry, Miami Dade College
Management of Total Hip Arthroplasty, Miami Dade College
Gait Deviations, Miami Dade College
Assessment Techniques for the Shoulder, Miami Dade College
A Comparison of Three Arthritic Conditions, Fox Valley Technical College
http://www.wisconline.org/objects/index.asp?objID=OTA1804
Hip Joint Replacement, Fox Valley Technical College
Traumatic Brain Injury and Occupational Therapy, Fox Valley Technical College
Case Study: Cardiac Disorders and Occupational Therapy, Fox Valley Technical College
http://www.wisconline.org/objects/index.asp?objID=OTA1404
Case Study: COPD and Occupational Therapy, Fox Valley Technical College
http://www.wisconline.org/objects/index.asp?objID=OTA904